63Interestingly, the amount of pressure generated by the weight of a fluid depends only on the height of that fluid column, not its cross-sectional area. Suppose we had a column of water the same height (144 feet) but in a tube having an area twice as large: 2 square inches instead of 1 square inch. Twice the area means twice the volume of water held in the tube, and therefore twice the weight (124.8 lbs). However, since this greater weight is distributed over a proportionately greater area at the bottom of the tube, the pressure there remains the same as before: 124.8 pounds รท 2 square inches = 62.4 pounds per square inch.